


Midnight Reverie

by alexcat



Series: Unlikely Lovers [4]
Category: Babylon 5 & Related Fandoms, Crusade
Genre: M/M, Oral Sex, more smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: Trace thinks about Max and how they got together.
Relationships: Max Eilerson/Trace Miller
Series: Unlikely Lovers [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895377
Collections: Babylon 5 Love Month, Of Elves and Men





	Midnight Reverie

Trace lay behind Max, snuggled up to the older man’s back. Max snored quietly, the only sound in the room. Trace was having trouble sleeping tonight. Sometimes the past was too much with him and sleep refused to come. Trace wondered if anyone else on the ship suspected that he and Max were lovers and had been since before they had become part of the crew of the Excalibur...

*****

It had all started when Trace joined IPX. He was fresh from studying for the priesthood with the Foundationists and had nowhere to go and nothing to do. The tragic events that caused him to leave the Foundationists had left him faithless and alone. He hadn’t cared much what would happen to him when he signed on with IPX, and he had taken that attitude into his new assignment as shuttle pilot and general muscle on a deep range mission. 

The first day on the job he met Max, the senior archaeologist on this mission. Max had annoyed him from the start. Trace was naturally competitive and felt compelled to try to one-up the brilliant older man. It wasn’t that Trace wasn’t intelligent. It was that Max was educated and widely traveled. Trace had gone from school to his training to be a priest. He had been young and idealistic and thought that was all he would need. When he watched the slaughter of innocents with no hope or help from the God he had been praying to, all of his idealism died too. Now he was just a kid with no future beyond his strength and piloting skills, little else.

He and Max had argued bitterly over everything. Trace was regretting his hasty decision to join IPX and was thinking about going AWOL. Perhaps he could find some of his old friends. Last he heard, André had gone off the deep end and was hearing voices. He didn’t know where anyone else was. He wasn’t sure he could bear to see any of them anyway. Oh well, IPX paid well, and perhaps he could get assigned to another group next time.

*****

Max shifted in the bed. He reached for Trace’s hand and then drifted back off. 

*****

Trace smiled to himself. Max had treated him so badly. He had insulted Trace’s intelligence, his ancestry, his looks and even his sexual preferences. He found it funny to reflect on. It wasn’t until Max had been slightly injured that things had changed. The floor in an old building had fallen in, and Max had fallen in with it. Trace had been terrified that Max was seriously injured, and they were stuck out on the deep range with no real medical equipment and no real doctor! 

They hadn’t been able to tell until they got back to camp that Max just had a few cuts and bruises and a badly sprained ankle. He hadn’t even broken anything. The camp medic made the senior archaeologist stay in his tent for a day or so. Max did not take this gracefully. More than one team member came out of that tent in tears. Finally, the others appealed to Trace to go in and talk to Max. They needed him to give them assignments and sign off on things they had completed. IPX believed in profit and paperwork! 

Trace agreed and ducked into Max’ tent. Max lay on his cot reading a battered copy of the Canterbury Tales. Trace was sure he was just reading the naughty parts. He had heard from more than one crewmember about Mr. Eilerson’s strange data crystals. The older man didn’t even spare Trace a glance.

“Max, the others sent me in here. They think I’m fearless or stupid. I’m not sure which.”

Max managed his most disgusted sneer, “WHAT do you and they want?”

“They need assignments, Max. They’re so damned scared of your nasty temper, they don’t dare do anything without your approval.”

“It’s Mr. Eilerson and why aren’t you afraid of me?”

“What can you do to me? Fire me? Big deal! Shoot me? If I cared what happened to me, I’d have never signed on to do this anyway.”

“Aren’t we the little smart ass?” 

“No, Max. I’m just being honest.”

He turned and walked out of the tent. Max called to him.

“Trace, come back. There’s a list on the table over there. It’s got what everyone should be doing on it.” Max pointed to the table with a resigned look on his face.

“Thanks, Max.” He grabbed the list and left the tent. 

*

Later that same day, Max sent for Trace. Trace avoided the summons as long as he could, then finally he went to see what his boss wanted. 

“Yeah, Max? What ya need?”

“It’s about time!”

“What do you need?” Trace asked again, not bothering to cover his irritation.

Max gritted an answer through his teeth. “I need someone to help me get to the shower tent. I can’t walk because of this swollen leg, and no one has been around all day.”

“Do I look like a fucking nurse?”

Max had had enough from Trace. 

“I’m not asking, Miller. I’m telling!”

So Trace had been shanghaied into helping Max to the shower. He knew this was going to be a mistake. 

He helped Max get to the portable showers that were set up using a local source of water. He sure as hell hoped Max didn’t want help getting in the shower! He had been having strange dreams about Max as it was. The last thing he needed was to be caught staring at Max naked!

“Trace… I hate to ask but could you help me…?”

“Oh fuck,” Trace mumbled under his breath.

Trace blushed as he helped Max undress. He tried NOT to look but was not very successful at it. He finally got Max into the shower and waited for him to finish. He helped tie Max’ robe on and helped him back to this tent, where he beat a hasty retreat as soon as Max was in his chair.

*

That night, Trace lay on his cot and thought about what had happened. He was embarrassed that he felt an attraction to Max. But he did. Trace had no real experience with men or women. He had dated in school but never gotten very far with anyone. He had a crush on André but had never done anything about it. Hell, he didn’t even know if he had a sexual preference at all. He did know that being around Max made him have a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. At night, he had dreams of Max that caused another feeling a little farther down than his stomach. He rolled over, disgusted with himself for being such a pig. 

Morning brought another summons from Mr. Eilerson. Trace went to see what Max wanted. He was grumpy. He hadn’t slept well at all.

“What is it this morning, Max?” 

“Oh, are we grouchy?” Max taunted.

“Shut up, Max,” 

He turned to leave.

*

Later that morning, Trace decided he probably should apologize and see what Max wanted. He stuck his head in the tent.

“Hi Max.” He gave Max his best smile. 

Max snarled but motioned him in.

“Trace, I’d send your smart ass home on the next supply run but you’re the only one here who isn’t scared of me and doesn’t kiss my ass.” Trace, being the smart ass that he was, mumbled, “I’d kiss it if you asked,” under his breath and Max caught it.

“What did you say?”

Trace turned bright red. 

“Nothing.”

“Did I hear you say you’d kiss my ass if I asked you to?”

“Yeah.”

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, just a joke.”

Max let it pass.

“Look, Miller, I’m sorry to be such a pain but you ARE the only one who is not afraid of me.” 

“I’ve been told I’m too dumb to be scared.”

“Uneducated maybe but dumb, no.”

And so they began to work together. Trace served as an excellent counterpart to Max. The crew all liked him and considered him one of them so he became a sort of go-between on the mission. He could make Max’ orders sometimes sound more palatable than they actually were and he could explain to Max why something went wrong when it did. And he was a damn good pilot. 

Trace still dreamed of Max; hot, sweaty dreams that left him restless and cagey.

*

Some months later on a different project on a different planet, things changed again between Max and Trace. Trace had been helping Max move the sand and dust from a small vault. Max was sure the vault held some precious stones as well as some old documents or data crystals that would lead them to even more treasure. Trace lay on the floor with the upper half of his body in the vault. Max was outside the vault sorting through what Trace had gotten out so far. Trace’s mind wandered as the dusted the small boxes and books and slid them out to Max. He was thinking about the dream he had last night and his thoughts were having the same affect on him that the dream had. He was aware that he was getting almost painfully hard, and he hoped that Max didn’t notice.

Max cleared his throat and called Trace to come out. 

“Mr. Miller, I would caution you to keep your mind on your task. These artifacts could be very valuable to IPX.”

Trace blushed and grinned at Max, “I don’t think that part of me even connects to my brain.”

*

Later that evening, someone knocked on Trace’s tent flap. He was reading, lying in his cot. 

“Come in.”

It was Max. He looked so good in his khakis and his leather jacket. His hair was damp from his shower. Trace could smell his cologne. Trace could not believe that he had these kinds of feelings about Eilerson, of all people. He sat up and grinned at Max. 

“What can I do for you, Maxi?”

Max smiled at him. “Maxi? Hmmm. I think I actually like that, but I’ll kill you if you use it in front of the others. Oh, I brought some brandy. Would you like to help me drink it?”

Trace had never drunk very much but he wasn’t about to turn Max away. So he found some glasses and agreed to drink with Max. Max sat in the only chair and Trace sat on his cot. It became very clear very quickly that Max could drink him under the table in a very short time. Max was pretty much the same drunk as sober. Trace was a bit giddy if not downright silly, and he knew it. He was sober enough, though, to know that if he wanted to make any play for Max’ affections, now was a good time to do it. He could always claim he was too drunk to remember if things went badly.

“Hey, Max, can I kiss you?”

“Can you what?”

Trace made a kissy face. “Kiss you.”

“Me? Why?”

“Cause I dream about you and think about you and wonder about you…” 

Max rose from the chair and crossed the space between him and Trace. He took Trace’s hands and helped him up. The two of them stood face to face. Trace smiled down at Max and leaned down to kiss him. Trace felt awkward until his mouth touched Max’. Max slid his tongue into the other man’s mouth and slid his arms around Trace’s neck. He leaned his body against the younger man’s. Trace moaned into Max’ mouth as he felt Eilerson’s hard cock pressed against him. He never dreamed that Max would be excited by him! 

“Max, I don’t really know what to do now,” Trace whispered as he broke the kiss. Max just smiled and began to unbutton the young pilot’s shirt as he kissed a line across Trace’s jaw to his ear, where he nibbled and sucked a tender earlobe until he could feel Trace tremble. He pulled the shirt back off Trace’s shoulders and kissed his way down to his small dark nipples  
.   
“Oh God, Max.”

Max slid a hand inside Trace’s pants. His hand was so hot as it stroked him.

“I’m gonna come if you don’t stop.”

“Not yet, Trace.”

The archaeologist dropped to his knees and unzipped Trace’s pants. He freed Trace’s hard cock. 

“Max!” 

Max slid his tongue over his head, running the tip into the tiny slit that glistened with precum. Trace was sure he would faint if Max didn’t stop and that he’d die if he did stop. He thrust himself into Max’ mouth. Max sucked him, teasing him with the tip of his tongue along the lower side. Having never actually experienced anything but his own hand, Max’ hot mouth was more than enough to make him lose all control. He came quickly and quite a lot. Max continued to suck as he swallowed. Trace felt faint as the spasms stopped. He let Max lick him until the older man was satisfied he’d gotten every drop. Max smiled at Trace as he sat down hard on the cot.

Max rose from the floor and stood in front of Trace. The hard bulge in his pants was at Trace’s eye level. Trace reached a hand out and rubbed the smooth khaki fabric. He could feel the heat from the other man’s body through the material. Max made a noise in his throat and leaned into the caress. Trace gently unzipped his pants and slid them down over Max’ erection. Max had worn nothing under his pants and his cock sprang out, ready for attention. Trace reached a hand up as he dropped the khakis, letting them fall forgotten to the floor. He traced his finger around under the head and then down the shaft. He looked up into Max’ face. 

“Tell me what to do, Max,” Trace whispered in a voice so quiet that Max barely heard him. 

And Max told him in a choked whisper what he wanted him to do. Trace leaned forward and took the head he had been rubbing into his mouth, running his tongue around it. He was surprised at how smooth it felt in his mouth. He licked the tiny slit, slipping the tip of his tongue into the opening. He stroked the rest of the hard shaft as he worked the head with his mouth. Max was trying to stand still but he kept thrusting himself into the warm hand that was sliding up and down slowly. He whispered more instructions to Trace. Trace complied by sliding his mouth down over Max’ length. He felt Max shake as his penis pressed against the back into Trace’s throat. Max tangled his hand in Trace’s thick dark hair. 

“Oh, Trace,” Max whispered as he shot his sperm down the back of Trace’s mouth, down his throat. He licked and sucked until Max put his hands on Trace’s broad shoulders to help steady him on his feet. 

Max finally sat down on the cot. He slid an arm around Trace’s waist. He leaned his head against him. Trace kissed his brow and put his arm around Max’ shoulders.

“Would you stay, Maxi?” He was scared that now that it was done, Max would get up and walk out as if nothing had happened. He wanted him to stay, needed him to stay. 

“Yes.” He kissed Trace’s cheek then the kiss inevitably became passionate as his mouth found Trace’s again. 

*******

This train of thought was not helping Trace go to sleep. As a matter of fact, it was making lying here a bit uncomfortable. Trace licked the back of Max’ neck, blowing hot puffs of air into his ear too. He slid one hand around Max and caressed the sleeping man from his chest downward… Max woke up.

“Trace,” he mumbled.

Trace rolled over to get something out of the drawer by the bed. The oil he poured on himself smelled like the cologne that Max wore. He moved close behind Max and began to push into him, slowly and gently. Max was fully awake as he stretched back to take Trace in. He moaned as Trace slid his oiled right hand around and closed it over him. Trace moved in slow lazy thrusts until he heard Max whisper, “Love me,   
Trace.” Sweet words from Max had always driven him crazy, and they still did as he thrust deep and hard into Max. He stroked Max with the same hard, fast rhythm. Max rolled over onto his stomach, and Trace was able to move over on top of him without breaking their union. Trace moved so his knees gave him some leverage for a harder thrust. Max growled and Trace stiffened and let go, coming into the older man, filling Max and calling his name as he spent himself. He withdrew from Max and turned him over quickly. Still stroking, he leaned down and took Max into his mouth. He ran his teeth across him and then sucked him deep and hard. Max cried out hoarsely and arched his back as he came into his hungry young lover’s mouth. Trace grinned up at him when he was finished and lay down with his head on Max’ shoulder. 

Soon it was Trace who was snoring as Max smiled to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> My [**Tumblr**](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexcat45).


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